Bagel Meets Lake Norman
Since he was a young pup, Bagel has been terrified of water. Not scared, but terrified. He didn’t like going out in the rain, didn’t like baths; he did not want anything to do with water. For this, he’s always been fairly clean as he stayed away from reckless activities such as rolling around in the mud. Through the years, he’s learned to deal with water. With the unpredictability of North Carolina weather, it will sometimes rain during our walks. Bagel handles it well, he simply puts his head down and keeps walking until we’re home. If it’s raining and he has to go out, he will go to one of two trees in the backyard and handle his business under them. Ironically with all this fear/dislike for water, Bagel loves the snow. I can’t explain it, it is what it is. Unfortunately for him, it snows only 2-3 times a year here in Charlotte.
These past 2 years and some change, we’ve been hitting the trails at Reedy Creek Nature Preserve instead of the dog park. I love the trails here because they are dirt/clay as opposed to concrete sidewalks. Reedy Creek is the best park in Charlotte in my opinion. They have everything including trails, basketball goals, volley ball courts, ponds, and even a cricket field. There are parts along the trails by Kingfisher Pond where we take breaks and Bagel has been inquisitive of the water. Recently he’s gone as far as to stand in the water about 6 inches deep.
With Bagel’s newfound curiosity, I began researching places that would allow dogs in the water. I came across a few beaches, but they ranged from 3.5 to 7 hours away. I wanted to take him to a freshwater source to begin with, so I found a spot less than 30 minutes away at Lake Norman. I ordered an Outward Hound life jacket from Amazon for Bagel, and because of my Prime account, it arrived in two days and we were able to go last week for the first time.
Due to the weather, I have been waiting until the evening to walk Bagel. We have found ways to stimulate him mentally as well as physically inside for the time being during the day. I wanted to take Bagel on a walk before going to the lake, so we walked the trails at Reedy around 5pm. It took us an hour and then we drove to Ramsey Creek at Lake Norman. We sat in traffic for 35 minutes, but arrived around 6:50pm. I parked and we began walking the short trails at Ramsey Creek. We veered off the trails and arrived at a side beach.
There was an overcast, but it was still warm out. I dipped my feet in the water and it was warm as well. Bagel did the same. I attached him to a lead which was attached to my utility dog walking belt. I slowly sat and backed up. When the water reached his chest, he made a small whimper. He was scared, but he stood there. I relieved tension off the lead to signal to him this is what I want. When he took a step back, I put tension on the lead again. He stepped forward, and I relieved the tension. After 10 minutes of stand-still, I put a little tension on the lead towards me. At this point, the water was taller than his legs so he jumped and began swimming! As he was paddling, I pulled him closer to me. It was clear Bagel wasn’t used to this, but he was facing his fear. When dogs are put in a situation where they are fearful, this is the best, albeit most-trying, time to build trust between you and your dog as well as his/her self-confidence. After I pulled him closer to me, I stood up and held him by my side. Bagel is 24.5” at the withers, so the depth where I was holding him may have been anywhere between 27”-31” inches. Not deep from the human height perspective. He didn’t know how to swim, yet he was innately paddling his legs. He was paddling vigorously as he was anxious. I stood and held him for a few minutes until he calmed down.
Once Bagel was treading water calmly, I remembered the moment my father taught me how to ride a bike in Durham. My dad took the training wheels off, and he was holding me as I was pedaling the bike, running/walking at my pace of pedaling. I was scared, but I was calm knowing he was there. After a while, I got comfortable, I was in a good space mentally. Then he let me go as I was riding with what seemed like no warning and I was off. I was riding my bike on two wheels with no training wheels and no one holding me up. He built that confidence for me to achieve my goal (riding my bike without training wheels) while building trust. Thinking of the moment, I let Bagel go. Of course, his lead was attached to my belt, but it was something I’m sure he had forgot about. He kept swimming without realizing I wasn’t holding on to him. I began moving sideways and when he noticed, he swam to me. I could’ve cried in that moment. The trust, respect, and loyalty of Bagel. After almost 6 years of knowing each other, our relationship still finds ways to deepen and strengthen itself.
It began raining 15 minutes later. Bagel and I packed up and drove off into the monsoon that would commence. This time, none of us were intimidated by the water. We left Ramsey Creek eager to return again.